Experts

Thomas E. Donilon

Expertise

Bio

Thomas E. Donilon is vice chair of the international law firm of O'Melveny & Myers, where he serves on the firm's global governing committee. Mr. Donilon is also senior director at the BlackRock Investment Institute. From 2010 to 2013, he served as national security adviser to President Barack Obama. In that capacity Mr. Donilon oversaw the National Security Council staff, chaired the cabinet level National Security Principals Committee, provided the president's daily national security briefing, and was responsible for the coordination and integration of the administration's foreign policy, intelligence, and military efforts.

Mr. Donilon previously served as assistant to the president and principal deputy national security adviser. In that role, he was responsible for managing the U.S. government's national security policy development and crisis management process. Mr. Donilon chaired the Obama-Biden transition at the U.S. Department of State. During the 2008 campaign, Mr. Donilon headed President Obama's general election debate preparation effort.

Mr. Donilon is a distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, a non-resident senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, and a member of the U.S. Defense Policy Board and the Central Intelligence Agency’s External Advisory Board. He is also a member of Delta Air Lines’ board of directors.

Mr. Donilon has worked closely with and advised three U.S. presidents since his first position at the White House in 1977, working with President Carter. He served as assistant secretary of state and chief of staff at the U.S. Department of State during the Clinton administration. In this capacity, Mr. Donilon was responsible for the development and implementation of the department's major policy initiatives, including NATO expansion, the Dayton Peace Accords, and the Middle East peace process. Mr. Donilon has received the Secretary of State's Distinguished Service Award, the National Intelligence Distinguished Public Service Medal, the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Award, and the CIA's Director's Award.

Mr. Donilon has been a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Aspen Strategy Group, the National Security Advisory Group to the Congressional Leadership, the Brookings Institution Board of Trustees, the Miller Center of Public Affairs Governing Council, and the Trilateral Commission. He received his undergraduate degree from Catholic University and his law degree from the University of Virginia. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife, Cathy Russell, and their children, Sarah (17) and Teddy (15).

In a Foreign Affairs snapshot, Thomas E. Donilon says, "Energy is a profoundly important aspect of U.S. national security and foreign policy: the availability of reliable, affordable energy is essential to economic strength at home, which is the foundation of U.S. leadership in the world."

Dramatic changes in urbanization, global trade, and consumer markets – which occurred over decades in wealthy countries – are happening at a faster rate, and at a much larger scale, in still-poor countries. These trends have brought substantial health benefits, but have given rise to significant challenges as well.

Questions have arisen in recent months about the sustainability of the United States' rebalance toward Asia. The costly cancellation of President Obama's trip to the region during the U.S. government shutdown last fall fueled that skepticism, which has only grown as urgent foreign policy challenges have required U.S. leadership in the Middle East and Europe.

After Hezbollah's attack in Burgas last July, Thomas E. Donilon says, "Europe can no longer ignore the threat that this group poses to the Continent and to the world," and that it must "respond resolutely to this attack within its borders by adding Hezbollah to the European Union's terrorist list."

On April 15, 2014, Thomas E. Donilon delivered the 165th Alf Landon Lecture at Kansas State University. He discusses why "America is not in decline but will continue to be the world's leading and most powerful nation for a long time to come."

National Security Advisor Thomas Donilon delivered a speech entitled "Iran and International Pressure: An Assessment of Multilateral Effort to Impede Iran's Nuclear Program," at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, on November 22, 2011.

In testimony before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on May 12, 2016, Thomas E. Donilon discussed the global trends and the strategic context in which the United States must operate today, the myth of America in decline, and challenges for the next president.

Thomas E. Donilon discusses the 2016 election and foreign policy priorities as part of a national security panel at the University of Pennsylvania, hosted by the Center for American Progress on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention.

Thomas E. Donilon discusses the 2016 election and foreign policy priorities as part of a national security panel at the University of Pennsylvania, hosted by the Center for American Progress on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention.